Category: Mindset

Sometimes I find myself needing to take stock of what's good in my life. It is way to easy to let negative thoughts rein, so in an effort to stay positive, and harness the power of gratitude here are 40 things I love and I am grateful for. Myself — I have recently learned that unless I am on the list of things I love then something is out of balance in my life. It is not selfish to love myself. Although I am still learning this one day at a time. The sky — it’s everywhere, it's so reliable, its always there to brighten my day or amaze me with its darkness. It's easy to harness the power of gratitude when you are grateful for such basic things that are…

If I don't have a picture of it, did it really happen? Monkeys swing from the trees to the corrugated metal protecting the steep stairs from the burning sun. They are looking for food or drinks they can steal. My phone is tucked away as I ascend 777 stairs to Mount Popa. I have heard these aggressive monkeys have a tendency to snatch anything they see from people’s hands. However, I’m itching to pull it out so I can take pictures of their cute little faces. What is this desire to capture everything in photos? My first camera used film. I remember lining up every shot to make good use of the 36 frames before I would have to beg my mom for another roll. Then I would wait weeks…

Is your time valuable? Stop wasting time on negative thoughts! If you were carrying $86,400 and $10 blew away, would you set down the $86,390 you have left to chase after it? Or would you just let it go? I recently received a text forward with this question. When I read it, I didn't even think about the answer. My mind immediately jumped to the conclusion, I'd let it go and hope that it fell into the hands of someone who needed it. The message went on to say that we each have 86,400 seconds in a day. Our time is more valuable than money because we can't get it back. Once we spend it, it is gone forever. So, every time we get upset, we lose 10 seconds. But…

First I will tell you what a life coach is not; it is not a therapist. Most do not have a degree in counseling or psychology. If they do, they have left the profession to be a life coach for a reason. Life coaches should have some kind of training. I am a Certified Life Coach. In addition, I am a practitioner of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Life Coaches Help you Shift Your Perspective A life coach will challenge you to look at things from different perspectives. They will question your actions, and the goals you claim to have. They will help you narrow down what is helping you move forward in life and what is holding you back. The goal is to…

You may THINK you know more than you actually know. It may sound like common sense. But once you start thinking about it, it's actually a little bit more complicated than it seems. What do I mean by that? There are lots of things that we believe are facts. We probably learned them when we were small children, and we stored them in our mind as fact when they are actually beliefs. We don’t think about why we believe these things are true. We are not made to question what we have already accepted. Think about it. When was the last time you tried to prove yourself wrong? Here are some examples. [caption id="attachment_1042" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Image by White77 from Pixabay[/caption] Beliefs About Sleep Sleep is for the weak. That is…

You may know about unconditional love, but have you heard of unconditional positive regard? When you wake up in the morning, do you ever think… “I really want to make some people mad today! I’m going to piss them off, hurt their feelings, and really make them feel awful.” I doubt it. I honestly doubt I know anyone that wakes up and thinks that. Sure, I’m not going to argue that there are people like that who exist, but in the circle of people that I interact with, I haven’t seen them. So why is it that we all come across situations where we do piss people off? We do hurt people’s feelings, even when it's not our intention. Often it feels like it's out of our control. [caption…

I realized in my last post, I wanted to encourage everyone to try more mindfulness activities, but I didn't give you a lot of guidance on what to do. So here we go, here are some mindfulness activities for adults that are easy to integrate into your day. (more…)

I never realized how much energy was burnt by the thoughts running through my head, until I found that mindfulness increases energy. Recently I disclosed to a friend how much I have battled with my body over the years. I have never had an eating disorder. But I have always felt as if I was taking up too much space. I wanted to make myself disappear, or shrink into a miniature version of myself. But I never knew how. I’ve hidden my insecurities and self-harm for years. But recently, I decided to live a more authentic life and talk about things that most of society keeps under wraps. Body Issues When my friend and I discussed this issue, she told me she didn’t know my generation still had this problem.…

Narcolepsy Coaching is a new concept. Interested in finding out what it's all about? Are you tired of feeling tired? Do you dream of waking up and feeling like you slept? Is your goal to get out of bed with purpose and not snooze your alarm? Do you wonder how much of your fatigue is normal, and how much is because you are living with narcolepsy? If any of these apply to you, then you are in the right place. [caption id="attachment_317" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Me in awe of a beach in Tanzania, 2017[/caption] What do I want to offer? I want to help you get from just coping with your symptoms, to living your best life. Sure, I recognize there is no narcolepsy cure (although I try to keep up…

Her small hands hesitate just the slightest bit as they brush over the thick pink scars. Brown eyes meet mine and then immediately flick back down to the rushing water of the pedicure chair. Her eyes pry, "What happened to you?" or "Who did this to you?" I can't be sure which. (more…)

One month after my keto breakup, I decided to check in with myself. It has been an incredible month. I have been amazed by how much I have been able to change in such a short time. I was anxious and excited to discover what life after keto had to offer. (more…)

Most New Year's Resolutions I have made in the past have been about changing myself. They could be changing my appearance, like losing weight or taking better care of my skin. Others have been about making more money or saving more money in the hopes of feeling a certain way. Some have been about exercising more, doing more meditation, or reading more books. But this year I am going to try something different. (more…)

So, I've got a theory about stopping the ketogenic diet. It is a theory that I am ready to test out; my mind is more powerful than my body. You see, my whole life I've worked to try to fix my body, trying to do things to it to make it better, to change it. For as long as I can remember, I have fought with my body. Today I've decided to surrender. Narcolepsy My parents and I searched for something to explain my insurmountable sleepiness and lack of energy. When I was about 13 years old, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that disturbs the sleep-wake cycle. But little did I know, its more than just feeling sleepy. I took that diagnosis and wrapped it…

Am I a digital nomad or hobo? The label of "Digital Nomad" generally calls up images of social media influencers, relaxing on the beach, posting pictures that make everyone jealous. While I do enjoy sharing my travel experiences, I am not quite on that level. But am I a hobo? I am an English teacher who just happens to work online. I use that advantage to travel as much as possible. But how did I get here? Was it a choice? Which phrase fits, digital nomad or hobo? (more…)

I believe I have tried almost everything available to treat narcolepsy. I have a strong desire to feel better. Like many people with narcolepsy, I am not lazy. I am actually overly ambitious and often do more than my body can handle and later face the consequences. I think I have worked pretty hard to feel as good as I feel now, but I always desire to feel better. (more…)